Decorative Ceiling Painting

Most painters take the easy way out when it comes to the ceiling, opting for a basic color or, least imaginatively, a uniform coat of white. A more creative approach to painting the ceiling, however, can dramatically alter a room's character. Decorative ceiling painting techniques can subtly complement the room's overall decor, or they can make the ceiling a bold focal point in itself.

Faux Finishes

Decorative painting techniques that mimic aging, distressing and natural wear add visual interest to ceilings, and these techniques also help to draw attention to your home's architectural details. An easy distressing technique involves painting a base coat of a medium-value color and then applying a contrasting darker color over the base coat with a dry brush technique, laying the color over the base coat in long, broken strokes. Another faux-aging option employs a crackling solution over the paint to create a cracked surface. Using these techniques on architectural details such as moldings, cornices and coffers emphasizes the complexity of the ceiling's structure.

Glazes

Glazes are thin washes of translucent paint applied in layers to create a deep, rich color effect. The effect of glazing varies considerably depending on the colors you choose. Layering colors that are close to one another in the color spectrum, such as reds, yellows or oranges, will have a more subtle effect, and glazes that are very close in hue will create an understated texture that is richer than a solid color. Combining glazes of contrasting colors, such as red and blue, will create a much more dramatic effect.

Metallic Colors

Metallic paints are another way to add richness to a ceiling, and their effect can be subtle or bold. A bronze metallic base coat covered with a lighter, mottled glaze, for example, results in a deep texture that has more shimmer than a similar glaze technique that uses nonmetallic colors. Paints are available in a wide range of metallic and pearlescent colors, and patina solutions can give some metallic paints a bold faux-aged look.

Illusionistic Decoration

The most ambitious way to decorate your ceiling is to create a mural or image that makes your ceiling look like something it's not. A simple blue-gray paint color will give the ceiling a skylike appearance, making the room feel more expansive and peaceful. The addition of a few fluffy white clouds turns the ceiling into a more literal imitation of the sky, and talented painters can add illusionistic architectural details and other decorations to transform the ceiling into a soaring fantasy space.

About the Author

Evan Gillespie grew up working in his family's hardware and home-improvement business and is an experienced gardener. He has been writing on home, garden and design topics since 1996. His work has appeared in the South Bend Tribune, the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Arts Everywhere magazine and many other publications.